After Death (2017)

What a retro jewel! Two people have given their all to create this throwback experience from the 16-bit era. The team decided to mix an action-platformer with some metroidvania elements with excellent results. The game is engaging but it requires a fair dose of patience because it is not an easy one. This sounds frustrating but thankfully the save points and especially the superb OST really makes you push for one more try. In addition, one element that surprised me in a positive way is the plot. It is a simple one, don't get me wrong, this is not a masterpiece in writing. However, it keeps things interesting after a certain point in the game. All in all, it is a must buy game for any retro fans and people interested in hidden gems.

Do you want to punch skulls like an undead Vega? Floating skulls, skulls on vines, boss skulls, ghost skulls you freeze so you have something to punch! Then get ready for some old-school metroidvania action: stiff controls, no signposts, slow walking only made slower by lots of water! Played with an xbox controller. What you need to know: 1. You're an amnesiac. Shut up and punch skulls. 2. Walk slowly, start on life support, jump and brush the ceiling and be thrown to the ground. Get used to the controls. 3. The map. Go where you haven't been, find out you don't have the ability needed to continue, repeat until you find the way. 4. Pure metroidvania in that the ONLY upgrades come from exploration. Monsters only drop health refills and ranged ammo when you get that ability. 5. There are secrets but you really only gain access near the very end of the game so don't bother hitting every wall until you have opened the final portal. 6. Lots of bosses. There is a story but it really isn't the point. It could stand more concessions to modern gaming, but it leans into it and the challenges are fair. There's no cheesing bosses. If you like metroidvanias, watch a few seconds of the video…

At least a "real" metroidvania! Thks very much :)

A great metroidvania title that features a great retro aesthetic and a banging soundtrack.

[b]After Death[/b] is an old-style Metroidvania that feels very barebone, almost like a C- college project, very basic and underwhelming, even though it definitely shows love to the 16bit era of console games. If this was a Metroidvania game made back then, when consoles were peak of gaming I'd say it's a pretty solid game, but for something that came out in 2017 considering all the advances in modern gaming, playing this feels very unsatisfying. At it's core the game is not bad, considering I'm giving a positive review, but the gameplay is as simple as it gets, map layout is weird and the writing is borderline questionable. In overall, true fans of the genre will somewhat appreciate this hidden gem, but for someone that plays Metroidvanias and 2D side-scrollers in general not that often this game will have a very polarized reception. 6/10

At first it seems competent, but as you progress further and see every area feels the same and nothing is even remotely exciting, the game feels like a chore. I mean, even if we forgive the movility by taking the game as a tribute to old castlevania games, the writing of "the story" is mediocre at best, the bosses are uninteresting (some even borderline goofy tone breaking jokes), the enemies often are reskings of former enemies. so much so that the only thing that changes seems to be the background and some very similar music. Then, ss a true metroidvania fan, the first thing i do when i get a new skill is scouring the map for places I could acces with that skill, only to find nothing interesting, or that said skill only gets me to steps further down that path before i need ANOTHER skill i dont yet have... what? is the dev telling me that i have to scour every corner 50 times or that i have to go straight as far as possible before even to swipe the map for secrets... nah... Im not gonna refund it, it is not THAT bad, but its going into the "when theres nothing else to play" list